I am very sorry to report that the bicyclist who initially survived being struck from behind Thursday night by a hit-and-run motorist, in a collision in which his riding companion was killed instantly, is reported to have died at Ben Taub Hospital. This raises the death count in this incident to two.

As you may recall, there was a tragic incident June 12 near Baton Rouge in which a truck crossed the centerline on a leftward-curving narrow rural road and slammed into a group of cyclists coming the other way. News of this incident was immediately broadcast by email across the country, and even now (three weeks later) it remains the second bulletin shown on the home page of the League of American Bicyclists. One cyclist was killed, there were several injured survivors. The collision was not an intentional act by the motorist.

By comparison, in the tragedy that occurred right here on our own Houston streets (indeed, in a designated bike lane) last Thursday night, there were TWO cyclists killed, and news reports give rise to suspicions that the collision was an intentional malicious act by the driver of the vehicle that struck the cyclists from behind.

Therefore I think Thursday night's incident is not just a tragedy -- it's an egregious OUTRAGE.

This is all extremely upsetting. We must not remain silent.

We -- the entire community of all bicyclists in Houston -- must hold a public memorial-and-protest event within the next few days.

I hope that, by working and grieving together, we will be able to salvage something good out of this most recent cycling tragedy. Remember: It could've happened to any of us -- so in a very real sense, it happened to all of us. If you are a cyclist, the bell tolls for thee.